Blanche des Honnelles (Belgium)

Blanche des Honnelles (Belgium) 6.0%

A very cloudy deep gold in a glass with dark clumps of sediment. The aroma is medicinal and reminds me of a tincture: herbal and boozy. I fear this bottle may be off but nevertheless I persevere.

Very sweet flavour, sugary and herbal with a sticky candied ginger and a flavour of toast and marmalade. Dried fruit flavours are a part of an aspect of the flavour that sometimes comes across as malty syrup. It seems like this beer was brewed once and then reinforced with a pile of sugar to amp up the alcohol content. This is a tried and true way to make a stronger beer but using more malt works too and would make a better tasting beer. I'm not saying Blanche des Honnelles is terrible though, depending on which aspect of the flavour strikes me it will seem syrupy, cheaply made and kind of gross honestly but then on the next sip Blanche des Honnelles strikes me as a tasty wheaty homage to a barley wine and I'm won over. I flip-flopped like this all through the glass so I'd suggest you try it only if you like flavours found in sticky, malty barley wines. This is NOT your typical wheat beer.

Duvel (Belgium)

Duvel (Belgium) 8.5%

Gold and slightly cloudy (don't store these bottles on their side, the only downside of the lovely gift pack I received for Christmas). A resilient and marenge-like head of white foam that forms little foamy peaks and lovely Belgian lace as it recedes.

Banana, herbal and sweet, nectary aroma. Herbal and sweet nectary (maybe even honeyed) taste, banana as well, with a slightly bitter and quite herbal aftertaste. Nothing in the taste that wasn't in the aroma. The alcohol is well concealed and the flavour is extremely well balanced in all aspects.

I was a bit worried I would get a larger than optimal amount of sediment but it was better than fine, despite my concern with the Duvel being stored on its side.

Siduri - Beau's All-Natural Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Vankleek Hill)

Siduri - Beau's All-Natural Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Vankleek Hill) 10.2%

A nectary and yeasty aroma with red berry hints just out of the neck of bottle before pouring it. It pours a cloudy (quite cloudy) gold in a glass with large, resilient, fluffy head of foam. The aroma is, obviously, much stronger now herbal, flower blossoms, touches of mint, and clover with a tartness in the background that reminds me of raspberries.

Wow. There is a lot going on in the flavour profile of this beer. It is peppery and tart yet sweet with a herbal yeast flavour. The pepper combines with the alcohol to serve as a mouth-tingling reminder that this is a strong beer at 10.2%. This same peppery flavour makes up the spicy aftertaste and it's very nice with food.

The overall flavour is in a way supported with wood tones that are mixed with a flavour that is very much red ice wine and complement the flavour nicely without being all you can taste and without fading into the background behind all the other delightful flavours. I'm not sure that I would have characterized the as red ice wine right away but knowing that this fabulous saison aged in red ice wine barrels makes it obvious where this delectable undercurrent originates.


This beer is quite expensive at nearly ten dollars a bottle but this price seems very reasonable when you consider the barrel aging, the presentation, the ingredients used and how delicious it is. I strongly suggest giving it a try.

Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Dunkel (Germany) 5.3%

Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Dunkel (Germany) 5.3%


This wheat ale pours a cloudy brown colour in a glass with an impressive head of resilient off-white foam.

It has a stronger yeast aroma than I was expecting, probably because I gave it a gentle roll to agitate the yeast before I opened the bottle: you don't want all that flavour just staying on the bottom of the bottle. Floral, nectar and blossom aromas as well as banana and cloves, just like a typical hefeweissen except there is dark malt background of lightly earthy, roasted malt with touches of chocolate.

Banana and cloves lead the slightly tart flavour when drinking through about three quarters of an inch of head. These flavours are followed by roasty and caramelized malt flavours that remind me of barley candy with some milk chocolate tones. It is this second group of flavours, along with mild red fruit tones, that come more to the forefront once the foam mostly subsides. Of course the yeast tones remain and feature strongly in the finish.

Chatoe Rogue Pumpkin Patch Ale (USA - Oregon - Newport) 6.0%

Chatoe Rogue Pumpkin Patch Ale (USA - Oregon - Newport) 6.0%

A slightly cloudy, deep copper colour like a lucky (though not shiny) penny. Cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg, the classic aroma of pumpkin pie, along with touches of the earthy aroma of the gourd itself.

The flavour is more or less identical to my description of the aroma though there is a bit of a roasty and sweet malt flavour which complements the spices nicely. There is some sediment at the bottom and, if it finds its way into your glass, it adds not just some yeast flavours (banana and an intensification of the cloves) but also suggestions of the orange peel Rogue used so it's worth adding.

Doppelbock - Les Trois Mousquetaires (Canada - Quebec - Brossard)

Doppelbock - Les Trois Mousquetaires (Canada - Quebec - Brossard) 8.6%

A reddish chestnut colour in a glass with a big head of frothy, resilient, off-white foam.

A malty, sticky, caramelized aroma with red fruit, a sugary molasses, and some alcohol tones tones a bit like fruitcake. A really delicious fruitcake.

Sweet with some flavour tones that remind me a bit of sherry but with much more depth and breadth than I have ever taste in a sherry. Some red fruit tones, as in the aroma, tastes of a light molasses, a hint of wood (likely from the hops) and plenty of dried fruit like raisin, dates or prunes but with a lighter taste to them.

Les Trois Mousquetaires' Doppelbock has a surprisingly light mouthfeel which keeps this beer very enjoyable and without allowing the sweetness to become cloying even at warmer temperatures (the suggested serving temperature is between 10 and 14 Celsius). There is a little sediment at the bottom of the bottle and it tends to make the beer a bit more yeasty and just the slightest bit sour so I would leave the last centimeter of beer in the bottom of the bottle to avoid that.

Smokin' Banana Peels Wild Oats Series #11 - Beau's All Natural Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Vankleek Hill)

Smokin' Banana Peels (Wild Oats Series #11) - Beau's All Natural Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Vankleek Hill) 4.9%

A typical weissbier aroma of cloves, blossoms, nectar and banana; as well as a lightly smoke twist that is more like well-browned, nearly burnt toast than a smoky wood fire.

Pale gold in a glass and as cloudy as you decide to make it. Similarly Smokin' Banana Peels features a silky white head of foam that can get quite foamy if you agitate it enough to get some of the sediment.

Creamy mouthfeel, yeasty with tasty cloves, banana and nectar flavours: sweet summery wheat beer flavours all. It isn't as smoky as other rauchbiers but there is a touch there, it comes out a bit more with some sips than other, and I'm sure the smoke flavour could be accentuated by pairing with smoky food. Fortunately, Smokin' Banana Peels is a very tasty weissbier even if it isn't very smoky and I have to say the name is quite clever.

La Trappe Tripel - Koningshoeven (Netherlands)

La Trappe Tripel - Koningshoeven (Netherlands) 8.0%

A lovely dark gold in a glass, this trappist ale (the only Trappist brewery outside of Belgium) has very mild honey and apple blossom aroma. Cloudy also and worth swirling to get a taste of the sediment.

The taste is strongly floral and sweet with a bitter backing that is powered by the distinct punch of cloves. Strong tasting for beer but actually quite mild for a Trappist tripel. Perfect for introducing non-initiates to the Trappist style of ale.

Dominus Vobiscum Blanche - Microbrasserie Charlevoix (Canada - Quebec - Baie-Saint-Paul)

Dominus Vobiscum Blanche - Microbrasserie Charlevoix (Canada - Quebec - Baie-Saint-Paul) 5.0%

A moderately cloudy, pale, blonde gold in a glass topped with a huge frothy white head that fades very slowly and leaves very impressive lacing. A delightful aroma that seems both creamy and tart all at the same time; some lemon, nutmeg and a softly herbal grain component.

The taste is lightly (and deliciously) spicy with chamomile and nutmeg that accents perfectly the creamy wheat mouthfeel and wheat flavours. The lemon aroma is mirrored in the flavour but much more lightly - never coming across as tart. There is a moderately bitter finish at times that eases into the aftertaste but fades rather quickly leaving mostly that flavour between chamomile and nutmeg with some very light roasted grain flavours. Dominus Vobiscum Blanche is very refreshing and absolutely delicious.

Before pouring I placed the bottle on its side and gently rolled it gently a half rotation forward and a half roation back. I did this because it had been resting in my cellar and then my fridge for a few weeks and I wanted to activate some sediment for full flavour. I recommend doing so because otherwise you might miss out on the impressive head of foam and some of the depth of flavour; and with a witbier this delicious you want all the flavour and it deserves proper presentation.

Shawinigan Handshake - Le Trou du Diable (Canada - Quebec - Shawinigan) 6.5%

Shawinigan Handshake - Le Trou du Diable (Canada - Quebec - Shawinigan) 6.5%

A cloudy orange colour in a glass, like the colour of a peach (just like the label suggests), with a nice fluffy white head. Sweet, honey and melon aroma with citrus (orange and nectarine) as well as a resin background.

Be warned before pouring: there is some heavy duty sediment at the bottom of the bottle. While a little of it may even enhance the flavour the dregs you'll get from pouring every last drop of this otherwise delicious beer, are overly yeasty, bitter and otherwise not very nice.

The taste is bitter at first with a great hops character of pine and still some melon and nectarine tones. Yeasty banana, maybe a little apple juice, green pear, and bread flavours really come out mid-mouth. The hoppy finish that is also heavy in slightly spicy honey is followed by an aftertaste that I would describe as dry cedar while the label calls it "dry spruce" and while I feel like there is a difference there, it is very slight.

Hitachino White Ale Nest Beer - Kiuchi Brewery (Japan - Ibaraki) 5.5%

Hitachino White Ale Nest Beer - Kiuchi Brewery (Japan - Ibaraki) 5.5%

A cloudy, glowing gold colour in a glass with a white head with fairly good resilience. A slight pine hops touch to the wheat aroma of cloves and spice, with some papaya and orange touches: a positively delectable aroma.

The expected (and tasty) white ale flavours are there, seeds of paradise and coriander, and orange zest, as well as papaya, some spice and a fairly bitter taste from that same hops flavour of pine that I detected in the aroma. The bitterness depends on how much sediment ends up in your glass. I got a fair amount so I found Hitachino White Ale Nest Beer ended up tasting like an American White Ale but a pour that leaves more sediment in the bottle may present a more classic white ale, sweet and fruity. After reading the label I realized I could pick up a little of the nutmeg they have used too, it's probably the source of some of the spicy touch as well as some of the bitterness.

Brasseurs RJ - Blonde d'Achouffe (Canada - Quebec - Montreal)

Brasseurs RJ - Blonde d'Achouffe (Canada - Quebec - Montreal) 8.0%

A bright gold in a glass with an aroma of honey, fresh baked bread, yeast; quite floral, touching on nectary, like a perfume. Very nice. There is sediment in the bottom of the bottle (as I tend to expect from the style) so the look and taste will tend to change as you drink it unless you pour it into a glass all at once, and that would have to be a big glass since the bottle holds 660 ml. I use a smaller tasting glass so this tasting had to proceed in stages.

Well carbonated, the alcohol comes through to the taste with a bit of a bite and in a chest warming sensation. I suggest serving it warmish so that the alcohol mixes better with the other flavours. The taste is sweet with flavours that are much the same as the aroma: honey and bread, touches of yeast but where the perfume, nectar and floral aspects carried the aroma they are more subdued in the taste. As I got to the midway point of this big bottle the flavour is more malty though the floral, nectar tastes remain. This flavour spectrum continued even after large-ish flaky sediment started finding its way into my glass. A very nice beer that you should definitely try if you like Belgian style Blondes.

Maudite - Unibroue (Canada - Quebec)

Maudite - Unibroue (Canada - Quebec) 8.0%

This beer pours a cloudy gold with a reddish/brownish hue.  It tastes very similar to Unibroue's La Fin Du Monde (which I absolutely love) but certainly has it's differences: sweet, bitter, floral, and yeasty, sure, but there is also a dark roasty red flavour lingering in there. I'm a little annoyed because I think I may have riled up the sediment too much while trying to get this bugger open, not that the sediment is unpleasant (far from it) but that it can sometimes conceal the other flavours. If this happens to you, you can always set it aside for a bit and let it settle but frankly it is great to drink any-which way. A general note, beers like this (with a yeast base in the bottle) can be aged like wine, though probably not as long, setting them aside can let the flavour evolve; too bad the brewery can't do that for us, eh?

Blanche de Chambly - Unibroue (Canada - Quebec - Chambly)

Blanche de Chambly - Unibroue (Canada - Quebec - Chambly) 5.0%

An enticing spicy and floral aroma. The taste is more citrusy than the aroma; the floral and spiciness tastes are all there and there is also a creamy umami taste. Though it has that creamy mouthfeel I mentioned it isn't too thick but also a somewhat watery which makes it a very refreshing as well as interesting. White Ales are amongst my favourites for just that reason. The lees or sediment does not take away from the taste really at all so there is no need to go to great lengths to avoid it. I would still recommend drinking this from a glass rather than a bottle (especially the 750 ml bottles!) so you can better appreciate the colour and aroma.

Ephemere Cassis (Black Currant) - Unibroue (Canada - Quebec - Chambly)

Éphémère Cassis (Black Currant) - Unibroue (Canada - Quebec - Chambly) 5.5%

A beautiful, floral, fruity and mouthwatering aroma of black currants. The taste is very much the same with a tart punch carrying the lovely black currant flavour, sweetness and more than a hint of citrus. There is a light malty backing that is more pronounced in the aftertaste as the showy fruit flavours fade to leave an appetizing impression of a rye (or darker) bread with a fruit glaze. Éphémère Cassis is a charming, slightly cloudy pink colour with a brown hint in a glass and a real standout.

Blonde de Chambly - Unibroue (Canada - Quebec - Chambly)

Blonde de Chambly - Unibroue (Canada - Quebec - Chambly) 5.0%

Gold in a glass with a full frothy head. Nectary and flowery yeast aromas; quite sweet with a honey flavour and a touch herbal. Quite a spicy taste to go along with floral yeast flavours - quite obviously a beer on lees. The aroma especially, but also the taste, settles down to some thing more conventionally malty and sweet. However, there are still effervescent and delightful hints of the yeast flavours throughout the beer getting stronger as you get closed to the bottom. If pouring the whole bottle into a glass at once, it is worth swirling the last inch of so a bit to grab some of that tasty yeast off the bottom.

The history behind the name Blonde de Chambly is interesting: Unibroue named it les Filles du Roi, young women of marriageable age who came to Nouvelle France to help populate the colony in 1665. With the cool story, the handsome label, the matching gold foil and the tasty brew inside this is a very nice beer, definitely worth picking up.

U Miel - Unibroue (Canada - Quebec - Chambly)

U Miel - Unibroue (Canada - Quebec - Chambly) 4.9%

Deep gold in a glass with a frothy head that fades quickly. A dry pilsner aroma with a grain flavour, faintly like a light rye bread, with a hint of roast and malty with some sweetness. The taste is basically the body of a lager with a sweet honey coating. There is a faint peach flavour that may be overlooked but it is there. Not as much of the natural spice that honey beers sometimes have but a nice honey pilsner all the same: refreshing and very pleasant with a touch of honey.

Trois Pistoles - Unibroue (Canada - Quebec - Chambly)

Trois Pistoles - Unibroue (Canada - Quebec - Chambly) 9.0%

Super frothy and a very dark brown colour in a glass. A lovely sweet apricot, herbal, spicy, floral and faintly yeasty aroma. Reminds me of Esrum Kloster. After the froth subsided the aroma was more dark fruit, plums, but still spiced and sweet with a herbal (faintly minty) aroma. Also something that reminds me of ginger bread cookies without being heavy on the ginger - probably a mix of the yeast-born spice and the molasses-esque tones of the dark malty. Some herbal taste but followed quickly by dark malt taste, a boatload of sweetness and a nearly masked alcohol taste that occasionally jumps out and bites at your toungue. I thought my bottle of Trois Pistoles (which has a spectacularly cool label) was already warm enough (out of a warmish fridge for more than fifteen minutes) but as it warmed further it became more balanced and more similar to a tasty, strong brown ale.

La Fin du Monde - Unibroue (Canada - Quebec)

La Fin du Monde - Unibroue (Canada - Quebec) 9.0%


A delectable spice filled floral aroma, matched by an amazing flavour. Strongly sweet, yeasty, bitter with powerful notes of citrus, pear, coriander. This product of Quebec tastes like a true Tripel from the abbeys of Belgium. To think, it's taken me so long to try this one!! La Fin du Monde is a little thicker on the toungue than some but really beautifully crafted and has a truly amazing mix of flavours not to mention the fact that it's cheaper by volume than any Tripel you can buy from Belgium. I'm definitely going to be picking up La Fin Du Monde again and again.